The FBI alerted Harris County officials to the discovery last week, and Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard told KTRK that the county is working closely with the FBI to determine how the breach occurred.

In a notification letter [PDF file] being sent to affected employees, David Kester, director of the Harris County Office of Human Resources and Risk Management, advised recipients to review the past two years' bank, credit card and debit card account statements for any suspicious activity; monitor their credit reports; consider placing a fraud alert on their credit files; and contact the Harris County Sheriff's Office if they discover any suspicious activity.